Bad news night dwellers. You could be sexually frustrated if the latest research proves true.
Scientists from Italy’s University of Siena have found that exposure to bright lights can lead to a higher level of sexual satisfaction in men who suffer from low sexual desire.
The results were stumbled upon whilst the scientists were using a light box to treat specific forms of depression. What they discovered instead was that the bright light caused men to show an increased level of testosterone – a naturally occurring sex hormone in the male body.
The university conducted their study on 38 men who had suffered from low sex drive. Half of those test subjects were treated with a light box whilst the remaining half were treated with a similar light box that emitted significantly less light. Tests were conducted for a duration of 30 minutes over a fortnight.
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At the end of the study men who were exposed to the brighter light were found to have tripled their sexual satisfaction whilst the other group remained sexually unchanged. Based on these testosterone levels, the bright light men showed a gain from 2.1 ng/ml to 3.6 ng/ml whilst the controlled group displayed little to no increase.
Professor Andrea Fagiolini who led the study believes that there is a perfectly logical reason for this finding which involves the seasons and varying sun light levels.
“In the northern hemisphere, the body’s testosterone production naturally declines from November through until April and then rises steadily through the spring and summer with a peak in October.”
“You see the effect of this in reproductive rates, with the month of June showing the highest rate of conception. The use of the light box really mimics what nature does.”
Professor Fagiolini believes that light therapy could be used to inhibit the pineal gland located in the centre of the brain which in turn allows more testosterone to be produced.
More specifically, a patient looking into a light box will have light waves hitting the back of their eye. This is then converted into a message to be sent to different parts of the brain which controls sleep, appetite, sex drive, temperature, mood and activity.
Don’t go scurrying to shine a torch in your face just yet though. A proper light box utilises bright fluorescent tubes which have about ten times the intensity of household lights. So put your iPhone down.
For now the academics believe that more studies need to be conducted in order recommend the procedure as a clinical treatment. If the concept does stand on its own (sorry), then patients can expect the same benefits of medication without the side effects. Or you could just eat these magic sex foods.
[via BBC]